Manufacturing of 3D structures using inkjet printing is known in the art. 3D structures may be manufactured by applying a predetermined pattern of droplets onto a supporting medium, the pattern of droplets comprising a plurality of layers of droplets. In this way, 3 dimensional (3D) objects may be built using inkjet technology.
It is further known to use a support structure when printing 3D structures. The support structure may support the 3D structure during manufacturing of the 3D structure, to support the actual 3D structure while it is being built. When manufacturing of the 3D structure is finished, the support structure may be removed, yielding a finished 3D printed product.
To efficiently print 3D structures using a support structure, it is preferred that the support structure is sufficiently strong to efficiently support the 3D structure during its manufacturing. Further, it is preferred that the support structure can be easily removed. In addition, it is preferred that the composition can be easily jetted using a print head. Furthermore, from an environmental point of view, it may be preferred to use a re-usable composition for printing the support structure.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method for forming a 3D object that meets the above requirements.
It is a further object to provide an alternative composition for forming a support structure and a corresponding method for forming a 3D object.